The local share market has suffered its worst losses in six weeks amid fears over the state of China's faltering economy.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Wednesday dropped 109.8 points to 7,195.2, its lowest close since July 12. The 1.5 per cent decline was its sharpest since a 1.7 per cent drop on July 7.
The broader All Ordinaries fell 108.6 points, or 1.44 per cent, to 7,411.8.
"I would say people are waking up to the reality that markets don't go up in a straight line and there is a real serious risk that China's economy is on the brink of something," said Jessica Amir, a Sydney-based analyst for trading platform Moomoo.
One of the country's biggest property developers, Country Garden Holdings, is said be teetering near default and leading trust manager Zhongzhi Enterprise Group last week missed several payments to investors.
"Trouble is bubbling in China's property market and it has huge implications - that's the bottom line," Ms Amir said.
A collapse of Country Garden, Ms Amir said, would have a more profound impact than the 2021 crisis at Evergrande, which led to a 30 per cent drop in BHP's share price and an 11 per cent drop in Apple stock.
"So there is a very serious risk of a correction here," Ms Amir said.
She saw the issues over China as weighing on the Australian market more than issues in the US, where better-than-expected retail sales figures for July released overnight raised concerns interest rates might need to say higher for longer.
There were also worries about the health of the US banking system after a Fitch Ratings analyst warned of a potential downgrade to the credit ratings of dozens of US banks, including JPMorgan Chase.
Ten of the ASX's 11 official sectors finished lower on Wednesday, with tech suffering the worst losses, dropping 2.9 per cent as Wisetech Global fell 3.7 per cent.
The heavyweight materials sector was down 2.6 per cent, with BHP dropping 3.4 per cent to $43.11, Fortescue falling 3.0 per cent to $20.19 and Rio Tinto down 2.3 per cent to $103.65.
All of the big banks were down significantly, with ex-dividend CBA down 3.6 per cent to $99.79, Westpac falling 0.9 per cent to $21.78, ANZ dropping 1.0 per cent to $24.82 and NAB down 1.1 per cent to $28.40.
In the consumer staples sector, Endeavour Group fell 4.2 per cent to $5.75 after the alcohol retailer missed profit estimates because of higher-than-expected tax payments.
Mirvac and Vicinity Centres were helping keep the real estate sector above water, climbing 5.3 and 2.4 per cent, respectively, as both companies reported earnings.
Seven West Media dropped 6.3 per cent to 37.5c after the Seven TV network and West Australian owner reported its full-year profit had dropped 27 per cent to $127 million, with revenue down three per cent and costs up one per cent.
Transurban fell 0.7 per cent to $13.86 after the toll road operator named its chief financial officer Michelle Jablko as its next CEO, replacing Scott Charlton.
The company also announced it would pay shareholders a record distribution, making $92 million in full-year profit, up from $16 million a year ago.
Core Lithium and Imugene were in trading halts for capital raisings, with Imugene to fund its $US21 million licensing of potential cancer immunotherapy treatment from Precision Biosciences in North Carolina.
The Australian dollar meanwhile had hit a nine-month low, buying 64.64 US cents, from 64.74 US cents at Tuesday's ASX close.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 index finished Wednesday down 109.8 points, or 1.5 per cent, at 7,195.2.
* The All Ordinaries dropped 108.6 points, or 1.44 per cent, to 7,411.8
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 64.64 US cents, from 64.74 US cents at Tuesday's ASX close
* 94.07 Japanese yen, from 94.32 Japanese yen
* 59.20 Euro cents, 59.26 Euro cents
* 50.79 British pence, from 50.97 pence
* 108.15 NZ cents, from 108.47 NZ cents.
